The rules say that Mecatol Rex cannot be annexed. This is detailed in the Strategy Cards section under the Diplomacy card description in the TI3 Book of Rules. It doesn't specify types of annexation, and the word is neither capitalized nor between quotations. The only specifier is the section where the rule is included. Only the context seems to suggest that it may be referring specifically to executing the Secondary Ability of Diplomacy. I went to the FAQ for clarification, and the closest ruling I saw is that this card does remove the Custodians on Mecatol Rex, but it doesn't go on to say that Mecatol Rex then changes from Neutral Status to belonging to the player using Voluntary Annexation--of course, half of us think this should be assumed, and the others think that we shouldn't assume what isn't written. It's a legitimate impasse.

We're split down the middle. Some of think that the rule book is clear that Mecatol cannot be annexed. Others think that the passage in the FAQ indicates that the card can be played on Mecatol, and that the special rules listed in that instance are there to clarify what to do with a Neutral System containing Neutral Units.

Mecatol Rex cannot be annexed with the Diplomacy II card under any situations. However, the action card Voluntary Annexation does not have that stipulation. Action Cards with similar titles to other things in the game are NOT those things. Skilled Retreat for example can be used whenever retreats are forbidden (by LAWs, Admiral etc).

Under the Voluntary Annexation card text it says the planet becomes the property of the player using it. The FAQ entry was about what to do if there are Distant Suns markers on the planet.

It may be worth pointing out that the Voluntary Annexaction AC was in the base set, whereas the Diplomacy II card was in the expansion. I agree that the "annex" referred to in the SE rules should have been more explicit, but like you said, in this case it's the context that matters.

The be honest, the word "annex" really doesn't mean anything as a general TI3 "term". In the SE rules it's obvious what it means by the context, but it's really not a true gameplay term that has a universal definition.

I second what Funky says.

It does seem to indicate that "annex" is referring to the Diplomacy strategy card only, although it is a bit misleading. It doesn't say anywhere else in the rules, faq or anywhere else that Mecatol cannot be annexed with the Voluntary Annexation card.

I do think it's a good point that the VA cards was in the original set of action cards and it only mentions annexing Mecatol in the SE rules. Thus if you were playing before, you wouldn't know that Mecatol would have that stipulation on it. I agree that the VA card can be used on Mecatol although I'm surprised it's not in the FAQ.

chesterschambleton said:

Well, it kind of is, indirectly, in referring to the fact that the Custodians would be discarded. I think that kind of implies that you still take control of the planet (because it's kind of asking "what happens to the custodians if I take the planet in this way")

It's worth noting that while it doesn't explicitely say you get the planet with Voluntary Annexation, the way it's worded strongly implies that the text of the card still applies, simply because it's asking "if I annex the planet with this card, what happens to the tokens" - and since it says nothing about it NOT letting you annex it at all, it follows that the annexation part IS legal.

That was the point I made to my gaming group as well, sig. It just doesn't make sense that this card could be used to clear the Custodians without transferring ownership, because then the card would only have an effect that has nothing to do with the text. It seemed like a tight argument at the time, but I was about to be over-ruled. I can't speak for others' pov's. I'm a little befuddled.

It probably wouldn't hurt to have an explicit FAQ clarification about that, though. While the FAQ's implications are very strong, some people just want expliciteness. You can try posting it in the FAQ thread - Corey does updates every once in awhile!

True enough, which is why we didn't have a particularly heated discussion about it. We differ on the implications, but we agree that implications aren't really enough anyway.

Confirmed by Corey: Voluntary Annexation may be used to take control of Mecatol Rex.